ZAGREB, November 15, 2020  - The production of cabbage in Croatia is stable, the market is supplied with sufficient amounts of this vegetable, and the corona crisis has led to a price drop this year, according to an analysis conducted by the Smarter consultancy firm.

This year's cabbage crop can satisfy the needs on the domestic market, and 2020 has been perceived as a favourable year for cabbage growing, says Smarter.

On the other hand, the epidemic of coronavirus has prevented holding of events and gatherings, such as wedding parties and other private parties with many guests, and has also affected the hospitality industry, and consequently the demand for cabbage has dropped and its price has also fallen, as a result.

The latest data provided by the Agriculture Market Information System (TISUP) shows that at the end of October the price of kilo of cabbage was HRK 3.66 as against 4.99 kuna in the corresponding period last year.

In 2019, Croatia's cabbage crop was 31,580 tonnes and it was grown on 1,463 hectares.

Record high export

 At the end of 2019, Croatia registered a record high amount of exported cabbage, over 2,000 tonnes, and the value of the export was above a million euros.

Last year, the imports reached 6,148 tonnes, worth 3.3 million euros.

The top market for the export of Croatian cabbage is Slovenia which imported 1,600 tonnes of this vegetable grown in Croatia, and paid 800,000 euros for that last year.

The largest quantity of the imported cabbage, 1,646 tonnes at the total price of over a million euro, arrived in Croatia from Macedonia last year. The  cabbage imports from the Netherlands totalled 1,476 tonnes (€870,000).

The biggest cabbage growers in Croatia are in northwestern areas (Varazdin, Koprivnica and Ogulin) as well as in the southern town of Sinj.

The average annual consumption per capita in Croatia is 11 kilograms.

The "Varazdinsko Zelje" cabbage, grown in Varazdin, and fermented cabbage (sauerkraut) from the western town of Ogulin enjoy a protected status in the EU.

ZAGREB, Aug 26, 2020 - Plums are increasingly in demand in the EU, however, Croatia's results in growing this fruit oscillate, as plum growing is often affected by weather conditions as it was this year, hence imported plums are dominating the market, an analysis by the Smarter consulting company said on Wednesday.

According to Smarter, which specializes in agriculture and food industry consulting, problems in the production of plums over the past few years have led to many large producers backing out of this business.

Croatia's plum production has recorded significant oscillations in recent years, Smarter underscored, supporting its claims with figures saying that in 2018, a record high 14,487 tonnes were produced whereas in 2014 just over 8,000 tonnes were produced.

This year due to poor weather conditions, the plum crop is expected to be quite bad, Smarter said and added that currently, the offer for plums is good however "the market is dominated by imported plums."

Smarter added that Serbia produces about 500,000 tonnes of plums annually and Bosnia and Herzegovina's plum crop is between 150,000- 200,000 tonnes. Romania too produces about 500,000 tonnes of plum annually and in 2018 its plum crop was a record high, 830,000 tonnes.

Data from the State Bureau of Statistics (DZS) indicate that back in 2008, Croatia produced 48,614 tonnes of plums with more than 32,000 being for its own needs through extensive cultivation while in 2019 production was only 9,403 tonnes," Smater's Miroslav Kuskunovic said.

According to official data, plums are cultivated on 4,500 hectares mostly in Slavonia and Baranja.

Last year 2,535 tonnes of fresh plums were imported with a value of €1.5 million while the country exported 845 tonnes for only €540,000.

Most imported plums came from Serbia (913 tonnes), Moldova (619 tonnes), North Macedonia (427 tonnes) while last year Croatia export 389 tonnes of plums and 57 tonnes of prunes.

At the same time, Croatia imported almost one thousand tonnes of prunes valued at €2 million, two-thirds of which were imported from Chile and Serbia.

Smarter underscored that European analyses indicate that the plum is one of the fruits with the most prospects for exporting in Europe and its market value in the EU exceeds €300 million.

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